My Hero?
by The pen or The sword
Summary: Mercer wakes up in a strange world full of bizarre powers, whats a sentient virus to do?


**I was trying to think of good prototype crossovers and it was mentioned my hero academia could work, so here we are!**

Nathan Bradley was not an overly impressive man, in fact, most would describe him as sickly. His skin had always held a sickly pallor, eyes always sunken in and his condition had only worsened with age. He had been diagnosed with a quirk at birth due to the single jointed toe, unsurprising as both his parents held a quirk.

The most impressive thing about Nathan was his intellect, he finished school at thirteen and moved out at sixteen to open a private business. His business focused on creating specialized equipment for hero's (and villains under the radar) While business was incredibly slow at first his business became quite popular for his ability to make highly specialized equipment.

Many customers noted Nathans deteriorating condition, how he went from unnaturally thin to malnourished. His eyes sunk ever further into his skull, he knew his appearance had become rather disturbing. He simply didn't care, there was an outcry when he stopped taking commissions, but with all such things, people moved on.

What many didn't know was his success and fall from grace could be traced back to his quirk.

Nathans father could lift massive weights for short burst of times, able to lift and throw their family pick-up truck. This exhausted his father though and often resulted in him damaging his arms and back if he held his quirk too long. His mother conversely could move incredibly quickly, able to travel a mile in under a minute. Yet using this power would result in her fainting for several hours. That coupled with her incredibly weak physique and bones meant she rarely ever used her own quirk.

So what kind of quirk had he developed? Did he gain his mother's speed? Father's strength? A combination of both perhaps? No, he was one of the rare cases, a mutation lead to his quirk being unrelated to either of his parents. His quirk was not based within his body but instead his mind. He never shared his quirk with others, he had never seen the point. It didn't let him grow to ginormous size or crush mountains, thus to most, it would be unimpressive.

Nathan called his ability The Abyss, an overly dramatic name for a semi-useful ability, by activating it he could temporarily boost his minds processing power to extremes. While using this ability he could complete math equations he couldn't even understand without it. He had used this to surpass his peers in school and had used later in life to work on commissions from heroes for specialized equipment In this state ideas came to him that he could barely comprehend, and often left him dazed and confused about the information left behind.

What Nathan hadn't accounted for were the consequences the constant use of this ability would have. The more he used it the more information he couldn't understand clogged his mental processes. He had reached a point where when the quirk was inactive he could barely think as incomprehensible knowledge swirled within his skull. Yet it was during this state of inactivity something clicked, he had a vision, or was it a dream? He saw thousands of different ideas clicking together within his mind to form...Something.

That very day he sold his home and business, using the funds to purchase a warehouse in the middle of Musutafu. He began his work in the warehouse at maddening speeds, he created a device to override the safety measures on the power grid leading to the warehouse. Over the course of several months, he created hundreds of different devices all meant to connect and interlock.

Nathans funds ran low but he couldn't find it within his broken mind to care, all that mattered was the completion of the engine...Or the portal? Explosive? Whatever the device he was creating actually was didn't matter, all that mattered was its completion. He knew he had to finish it, despite not understanding why. The swirling ideas and voices in his mind demanded its completion...Thus Nathan obeyed.

The warehouse now looked like the internals of some massive machine, over half of the building was filled with wires and random devices. Any that viewed this cacophony of machinery would agree it was the work of a madman. It was the dead of night when Nathan "completed" his machine. With the glee of a madman, he hooked his machine into the power grid. Several parts glowed and a hum filled the air, for but one moment there was a bright flash of blinding radiance.

Several parts of Nathans grand creation had melted, others had exploded. Shrapnel and thick black smoke filled the warehouse with the scent of burning plastic. As Nathans' eyes readjusted to the darkened building his eyes were drawn to the front of the room. Where the blinding flash had taken place there was now a mass of pitch black slime.

In a more sound state of mind, Nathan would have donned some protective gear, would have stopped to consider the safety of handling a substance that had appeared from thin air. Unfortunately, Nathan's mind had taken leave of him long ago, thus he approached the fruit of his grand creation unafraid, mason jar in hand to collect the strange substance. As his hands approached the substance something bizarre happened, the slime gripped onto his hands.

In the final moments of Nathan Bradley's life, he experienced a period of lucidity. At this moment he experienced genuine horror as he realized he had unleashed a monster unto the world...

* * *

Alex Mercer was not having a good day...Though saying that considering the fact he had only existed for a few months he may have not been the best judge. The memories of all those he devoured seemed to agree this was a particularly awful day.

He had been wandering through Africa in an attempt to see the developing world for himself. His decision to do so was spurred on by Dana's comatose condition and him having nothing else to do. He had already thoroughly neutered black watch and destroyed everything he could find on carnival one and the experiments at Gentek.

Thus he thought it would be interesting to wander the world and see the human condition for himself...It had gone rather poorly as he ended up stuck in the middle of some warlords territory, though the look on the warlords face when Mercer turned his entire gang into paste had almost made it worthwhile. All throughout his month-long journey all he saw was suffering. Humanity ripping itself apart, man turning on his brethren to get ahead.

It was here he had a revelation the world needed his help, he just wasn't sure how he could yet. It was as he pondered this that his day had gone from mildly irritating to bad. There was a flash of light than the feeling of his body being ripped apart. The only comparable agony he could think of was his experience with the nuke. His mind lost focus as he was ripped to shreds reduced to a pile of slime...Then the torment came to an end, he could feel a smooth cold surface beneath his form.

He sensed vibrations as something approached him, with no conscious effort he pulled the source of the vibrations into himself. The flood of memories was bizarre. Ideas that made no sense, thoughts that didn't connect to others, landmarks that made no sense. Random bits of information that held no meaning, whoever he had consumed had been very mad.

The man's genetics were incredibly odd as well, there was an extra gene that seemed completely out of place. The gene was bizarre, the way it interlocked with the rest made no sense. Mercer made a mental note to observe this gene more in-depth whence he gained his bearings.

As mercer sorted through these broken memories and disjointed memories. He noted the smoke and broken machinery. He didn't know what to make of it, thus he stepped towards the exit noting the bed mat in the corner. The person he had consumed had clearly been living here for some time. Noting this he stepped outside.

It was darker than he excepted, it had been midday as he lamented how to help humanity, yet it appeared to be late into the night. Even more bizarrely where he had been wandering through a heavily forested area he now appeared to be in a well-developed city. Even stranger all the lights appeared to be out, from the neighboring buildings to the streetlamps there didn't appear to be any power. Perhaps it was some form of mass blackout? He took note of the park and multiple dark alleys.

Still, he was even more lost now, a total shift in time zones implied he had somehow traveled to another part of the world in a matter of seconds. Even more, the architecture seemed off, cleaner and sleeker than any of the cities he'd seen before. Frustrated by this lack of information he activated his thermal vision, spotting a signature laid out in a back alley. With a smirk, he followed the signature to discover a homeless man sleeping on matted cardboard. The man only had time to open his eyes as Mercer's foot pierced his chest.

New information flooded mercers mind, all might, quirks, destitution. The man's memories seemed to imply this truly was a different world, the man even had the same bizarre gene that the madman in the warehouse had. The scientific minds within him screeched at the impossibility while the more creative minds listed several different anime's known as isekai's that covered this situation...

After the internal conflict settled mercer realized not much had changed. Dana was still safe with Ragland, black-watch was as far from him as it could possibly get. He had wanted to see the world, what difference did it make if it was a different world? Still, he felt disappointment bubble in his chest as he looked down at the matted cardboard, even in another world humanity trampled each other to get ahead with no heed to the pain they caused.

Worse this world held men who were truly powerful, dangerous individuals with abilities known as quirks that let men play as gods. Mercer's thoughts were interrupted when he heard a grunt from a connected ally. Instinctively he activated his thermal vision and saw a bizarre heat signature. It stood on two legs but had a malformed face, it also seemed large standing seven foot and six inches tall.

The heat signature was coming out of a window carrying several large pieces of high-value furniture. Mercer considered what to do...No one would miss the odd signature as it seemed to be a simple thief but it was unlikely it held any prevalent information, low lives rarely knew anything of import. Coming to a decision mercer began a slow approach.

* * *

Brutus was never the brightest person, he dropped out of school early in life. Spurned by his peer's mockery of his power and appearance. He had planned to pursue a career as a hero, but as with many things in life, the world was cruel. His appearance terrified those he tried to help and as he dropped out of school he never had a great grasp on how to avoid collateral damage. Eventually, he came to the conclusion if he couldn't be a good hero he'd be a great villain...

He hadn't really thought his choice though, he was incredibly easy to spot due to his physical mutation and his quirk wasn't exactly good for stealth. He quickly realized he didn't have the skills to make it big as a villain and thus started doing simpler crimes than his imagined grand entrance into villainy.

He had simply wanted the world to know his name. His dream was to be as famous as all might, to show others that they didn't dictate his lot in life. Alas with a recognizable appearance and a not overly powerful quirk it had all fallen apart. Now here he was robbing middle-class citizens for furniture...

One thing that all his past mistakes had taught him was to trust his instincts, his instincts had saved him far more trouble than his own thinking ever had. They warned him of danger that his own higher processes couldn't perceive, they warned him away from unwinnable situations and even pointed him towards more lucrative paths.

Thus when his instincts started screaming at him to turn around he listened. He gazed at a man approaching him from a side alley, the man was of rather average height and thus was comparatively tiny compared to his own seven-foot frame. The man lacked muscle and appeared rather pale and sickly. Brutus could crush guys like him with one arm tied behind his back.

Yet, he felt something in the back of his mind, burning down his spine all the way to his legs. That thing wasn't human, the irony of him thinking that about another wasn't lost on him. All through life he had been taunted and mocked for his monstrous appearance but this was different.

The man's outer appearance was perfectly normal if sickly, but the way he moved, the way his chest didn't rise or fall, the way his eyes didn't blink... It was close but there was just enough otherness to set all the alarm bells off in Brutus' head. Part of him was tempted to turn tail and flee but his instincts dissuaded him. It was like a large predator, turning his back would result in it pouncing and ripping him to shreds. Thus he faced it trying to hide his fear as the creature continued to examine him with its cold dead eyes.

"You...Need something?" Brutus grunted as he continued to eye the creature pretending to be human. For just a moment he thought he spotted a flash of approval in its eyes. Thanking his instincts yet again for not leading him astray he waited with bated breath for the creature's reply.

"Hmmm...You'll do I suppose, I need information Id like to hire you to gather that information." The creature spoke in a dark almost growl-like voice that further strained Brutus instincts. The way the creature spoke had an edge of playfulness like a cat looking at a particularly interesting mouse.

"I think there are some others out there who might be better suited to gathering information for you." Brutus carefully phrased his sentence, trying to avoid giving offense.

"Tell me did you always dream of being a petty criminal? Robbing televisions from little old ladies to hard of hearing to realize you're tearing up their houses? Didn't you ever want to be more?" The creature mocked Brutus, for a moment he felt anger boiling within his body before his instinctive fear reeled him back in. The creature was looking at him expectantly, it actually wanted an answer?

"I...Wanted to be famous, I wanted to be a hero. Then I realized the world wouldn't treat me any better as a hero or villain. Now I just want the world to know my name..." He dug deep as his instincts screamed at him not to keep the being waiting.

"I can make you famous if you work for me your name will be more recognizable than all might. bring me someone knowledgeable about the area, someone with a quirk would be preferred. Do this for me and I promise you your dreams will be fulfilled." The creature dangled his greatest desire before him. A grin with too many teeth written on its face.

"What's the catch?" Brutus had many questions, like how, or why but most of all this stuck out in his mind. If his instincts weren't lying to him and the creature standing before him genuinely could grant his wish what would it stand to gain?

"Loyalty, power and fame have a price. You will directly work for me, you will swear your life to me, I say jump and you will jump. You don't question how high." The creature spoke its grinning seeming to have widened further at his question. As if it was pleased with his question...

"If you're telling the truth...You have a deal." Brutus sealed the deal with the monster. He didn't agree out of greed but due to following one of his core tenants, he listened to his instincts.

"Bring me someone knowledgeable about the area, with a quirk and you will have your reward. Meet me in the park, you have one hour. I'm not patient so do try not to disappoint me..." The creature strolled off down one of the alleys confidence emanating from its every step.

"Wait!" Brutus cried out as the monster turned to him.

"Brutus..." He stated flatly as he internally facepalmed, the creature was liable not to care about his name and probably wouldn't give its own.

"Alex, Alex Mercer. Don't keep me waiting" The creature taunted as it sauntered off as if it had never been interrupted in the first place.

Brutus eyed his stolen goods, the creature...Alex had given him an hour, he could ditch this stuff and run. Start over in another city, while he didn't think he could escape mercer if that monster put its mind to it, he was sure he wasn't worth the hassle to hunt down. He considered his options for a few moments staring at the large televisions blank screen.

He punched it shattering the screen, whatever the future that creature held in its hands was far larger than any he could envision. This was his only chance to be part of something larger, to be known. He had to get to work, there was hunting to do...

* * *

Alex was mildly impressed when Brutus returned not even forty minutes later, with a large shape draped over his broad shoulders. The shape consolidated into the form of a young girl of around sixteen years of age, she had been wearing glasses but they had shattered upon his new employee punching her in the face.

"I ask for knowledge and you bring me a child?" Mercer questioned irritation leaking into his voice as he glared at Brutus.

"Wait, she's young so she's bound to know about like current events and stuff. Plus I found her in the library! So she's got to be smart?" Brutus pleaded with him as he eyed the girl. Overall given that reasoning he wasn't overly annoyed with his new employee, Brutus was simple and had used his limited thinking skills to find an appropriate target within the time frame. Perhaps he should have given more time but he felt this would make a good test.

"What is her quirk?" Mercer questioned as he eyed the girls bruised and broken face. She was at least bound to have some knowledge of history and current events if nothing else.

"She glows, was how I found her. She was reading in the library using it." Brutus explained as mercer examined the girl.

"Well...You could have done better but you also could have done far worse, I think you've earned..." Mercer was interrupted by an impact, standing across from the stood a woman in a bizarre costume. The material seemed almost painted on it was tan with purple accents and ridiculous purple horns attached to the women's mask. Overall she reminded mercer of the over the top wrestling shows many of his memories contained...

"Halt Villains! I am the great Mount Lady, release the girl, surrender and I won't have to make it hurt." The women grinned lecherously as she stared them down. Groaning in annoyance Mercer turned on his employee.

"You led her here you deal with her," Mercer commanded as he lifted the girl into his arms. Mount lady charged towards Mercer growing in size as Brutus tackled her. As their fight commenced in earnest he walked off, girl clutched in his arms. A hungry grin painted across his face.

* * *

Things had gone poorly for Brutus overall the Mount Lady had apparently been a professional wrestler and with her superior fighting skills he hadn't been able to pull off a victory. Currently, he was held in a large interrogation room as they tried to get him to reveal the location of his employer. Many would have spoken out, gave them all the information they had to try and earn some leeway.

Unfortunately for the police, Brutus was a simple being, he followed two golden rules. Listen to your instincts and never break a promise. He had made a deal with the being Mercer and he wouldn't break it just because some police tried to talk big. Not that he had any more than them in the first place, the creature showed up out of nowhere and hired him. He only knew it's name...

The lights in the room were slightly dim as the station was running off a backup generator apparently a massive outage hit most of the city, frying electronics left and right. Power was estimated to be fully repaired within the next two weeks, not that it mattered but Brutus took note.

The cops were letting him stew hoping he'd get desperate and paranoid. Let something slip, he had only been in there for three hours when someone entered the room. It was a man, short, young, blonde hair and blue eyes set in a sharp face. Clearly, a young cop so why was he in here? Why had the cameras in the room stopped moving...

"You didn't talk why?" The voice emitting from the young cop was intimately familiar. He felt fear well up in his gullet as he eyed the completely different person with the same voice of the creature.

"We had a deal, I don't break deals," Brutus grunted hoping the simple but truthful reply would satisfy his employer. The glint in the creatures eye told him his reply was the right one.

"I promised you power, I want you to use your payment to break out, I want you to break the women who put you here," Mercer explained as he gripped Brutus' shoulder.

"How do you expect me to get out, we can't all change our face boss." Brutus chuckled as he eyed his employer's altered form.

"I expect you to use your reward..." Mercer said cryptically as he grasped both of Brutus' shoulders.

Agony arced through his body as his arms were torn apart by angry black tendrils. Mercer stepped back as Brutus cried out in agony, he could feel the tendrils tearing into his body, warping around his spine and sinking into his knees. The agony was over in seconds but it felt like hours. Looking down Brutus saw his arms had changed, they were now pitch-black, rough and tar-like. Large bone-like protrusions emerged from the knuckles of his three-fingered hands.

Brutus smashed the ground feeling the reinforced concrete shatter like glass, he felt as strong as he usually did in his giant form!

"I'll be gone in five minutes, do try not to have to much fun..." Mercer chuckled as he left the room. He quickly left the building hearing a loud crash behind him as Brutus no doubt began his grand escape.

**Apologies to the one who put this in my head I couldn't find a good way to bring mercer in without an oc, I hope his death alleviated some of your annoyance with ocs. As always thanks for reading and leave a review.**


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